1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of software programs, and more specifically, to a computer-implemented system that interfaces with AUTOCAD® software to design fire protection systems for commercial buildings.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a mechanical subcontractor, Rael Automatic Sprinkler Company, Inc. (“Rael”) of Lynbrook, N.Y., has been undertaking projects to design and implement fire protection systems for major construction projects in and around New York since 1963. During the company's initial days, designs were generated manually using traditional drawing methods. Typically, designs were drafted manually on drawing sheets, and the final list of materials was also prepared manually.
Over the course of the ensuing decades, as computer systems came into use, computer-aided design and drafting (“CADD”) become popular in the mechanical construction field. Around this time, Rael began using CADD tools like AUTOCAD® owned by Autodesk, Inc. (“Autodesk”) of Sausalito, Calif., to draft its fire protection system designs. Although computer-assisted drafting was initially two-dimensional, Rael adopted three-dimensional CADD methods when Autodesk introduced its AUTOCAD® mechanical, electrical and plumbing (“MEP”) software product.
Even though Rael was using state-of-the-art CADD software from an industry leader, some portions of the design process were still inordinately time-consuming. For example, it was taking a lot of time for the draftsmen to list out the materials. All of the materials were counted manually from the finished drawing, the list was sent to shops for fabrication, and the list was sent—together with the fabricated pipe and materials—to the worksites for implementation (construction) of the design. To identify each piece in the system, it was necessary to tag each piece during the drafting and listing process. The fabricated pieces were later marked with the same tags for easy identification in the field. This tagging process was manual, required significant time, and was prone to human error.
To overcome the limitations described above, Rael decided to develop its own software program that would function as an add-on tool to AUTOCAD® MEP. The AUTOCAD® software provides an application program interface (“API”) for customization of the AUTOCAD® software, and Rael used this API to develop the present invention.
One object of the present invention is to provide a three-dimensional CADD software program for piping systems that is capable of building information modeling (“bim”). It is a further object of the present invention to provide software that can be used from the earliest design stages through fabrication and installation drawings. Yet another object of the present invention is to reduce drafting hours by providing a software program that makes low-level design decisions automatically.